A LARGE crowd gathered at Warragul Station last weekend to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the construction of one of Victoria’s oldest operating steam trains, despite that train being unable to make it to Gippsland as planned.
Above: K153 in Warragul. Photos by William PJ Kulich except where credited otherwise.
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The Y class locomotive, originally numbered Y419 but now known as Y112, operated a number of Gippsland lines in the early 1900s and was due to make a trip to Traralgon on Saturday 26 July for the celebrations, but boiler problems stemming from a number of problem rivets saw the it fail light up tests.
Rail restoration group Steamrail ran the anniversary service with another steam locomotive instead, K153, and celebrated Y112’s birthday with a cake at Warragul Station.
Had Y112 made the trip it would have been its first run to Gippsland in 101 years.
The decision to not run Y112 was based on safety concerns.
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“Our volunteers have put a lot of effort into this tour for Y112 and we are extremely disappointed by this outcome,” a Steamrail spokesperson said in a Facebook post.
“However, when dealing with a 125 year old locomotive, no amount of maintenance or preparation could have avoided the issue that occurred today.
“Safety comes first and hence this decision was made.”
Above: cutting Y112’s cake.
Above: on to Traralgon!
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Above: Y419/112 the day before it was due to head to Traralgon. Photo via Steamrail/Facebook.
